The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-10-06
BRAZORIA.

More About the Recent Trouble--Nuckles
Wouldn't "Knuckle."
Special Telegram to the Statesman.
BRAzoRIA, September 2S.-For the pres
emit, at least, all excitement has subsidized
in this neck of the woods, the returning
rangers reporting that all is quiet in
Matagorda, and that no more trouble is
anticipated at this time.
Your correspondent has endeavored to
get full and fact information of the re-
ported uprising, aud believes that he was
successful, having oonversed freely and
frankly with all classes of people, and
presents the following as being an impair
tial statement of the whole affair from its
beginning.
There is no doubt that the entire affair
originated when the negro constable
served papers upon man named Nuckles,
the said Nuckles having refused to work the
roads. 1t is said by both parties that
white man named Stafford, who is at the
head of six or eight "bad" white men of
the section near the coast, went with the
constable to show him where Nuokles was.
Since then the negro has not been seen.
Some say mule that he has been riding
was found in pasture - three different
pastures being named-and that horse
was taken from the place, the
inference being that the constable has
fed the county to escape indictment for
stealing. Others say there is no doubt
that the constable was killed, and so thinks
the sheriff. At any rate, the negroes took
that view of the matter, and forty-seven
of them, armed, went in body to Nuckles'
house and demanded to know where the
constable was, threatening to kill
Nuckles IL he was not given
up. No one was at home when
the negroes arrived except the women
folks, and the negroes left, after insulting
and threatening the women-but, how
ever, without doing them bodily harm.
The exact number of this mob Is placed
at forty-seven, as they we're counted by
nine white men, armed with Winohesters,
who were hiding in the woods while the
darkies passed by them on the prairie.
An attempt to parley was refused by the
negroes, who claim that the gentleman in
command of the whites, Mr.. Charley
Reese, was against them. They cursed
the white men, and told them that they
were going to kill Nuokles, Stafford and
several other whites.
Mr.. Reese had some difficulty in pre-
venting his men from firing into the
darkies, but was successful and collision
was prevented.
SO far, these facts are not disputed, ex-
cept that it is said that the negro con-
stable had not stolen beef, but, in fact,
was exceptionally peacable and polite,
not even carrying pistol when he went
to serve the law papers. Rumors then
| In Dra INIT
blacks we're organizing and had threatened
to clean out the whites, that they we're as
sembling by hundreds and arming for
their deadly work. A careful investiga-
ton, however, could not tree O single
rumor to this effect, there being no one
who had ever seen or heard Of any body
of negroes assembling together to the
number Of even twenty-five, for that mat
ter, except the first gang of forty-seven
seen by the nine white men.
Then came the fight of Sunday-the
only instance where the negroes are known
to have returned fire. Two negroes were
killed in the fight. One white man,
emptying his Winchester at one of them
and then dismounting, turned him over
to "see If he was the one he wanted" and
finding he was, then discharged every one
of the loads of his six-shooter into him
and riding around the balance of the day
with his hands all bloody. Although the
negro was killed Sunday, it was Wednes-
day before the negroes came to bury
him.
The whites-probably another body
then went to the house of Oliver Shepard,
who was known to be a desperate negro,
and who had sworn he would never be
taken alive. On their way, and near Shep-
ards, negro named Munroe was dis
covered squatting in cotton patch.
Some say he was unarmed, while others
say he had a shotgun and attempted to
shoot. At any rate, he was killed. The
whites then went on 10 Shepard's cabin,
and, saw him in fronHof the house with a
Winchester.
Fire was opened and returned. The
negro retrested inside the log cabin, where
he held them at bay, firing through the
cracks of the house until dark, when the
captain called them off. 1t is said that
the walls of the cabin were full of lead,
while the roof was literally shot off, the
negro being unhurt 1t is said that there
were twenty whites surrounding the cabin
and it is mystery why they drew off, the
only plausible reason being that it was too
hot for them.
Next morning another raid was made on
Shepard's cabin, but he had gone, and
after tracking him ten miles through the
brush, all traces of him were lost, and he
has not been heard of since, and appar-
emily the pursuit has been abandoned.
Stafford seems to be the bright particu-
lar star of the engagement.
The party which had gone from
Brazoria and Columbia had captured two
negroes, both after long chase and
after having been dubbed into submission.
One of these negroes refused to surrender,
even then, until the son of his old master
: came up, when he Immediately said he
"would go with Marse Jim." These
negroes were taken to camp, and the boys
had TO hide them under bed to keep
I, Stafford from killing them.
= The matter went SO far that one of the
Brazoria boys pulled down on Stafford
} and told him IL he killed the negroes he
would kill him. The negroes were moi
killed, but were taken down the road Q
bit and liberated on bond. Some of the
, whites claim that IL was only by their
prompt action that general uprising was
prevented.
While there was an entire
absence of anything like an attempted up
rising on this occasion, it was reported
that q general massacre of whites was EN-.